Cash on the Barrelhead

I got in a little trouble at the county seat

Lord, they put me in the jailhouse for loafing on the street

Well, the judge said guilty, he made his point

He said forty-five dollars or thirty days in the joint

That'll be cash on the barrelhead, hon

You can take your choice, you're twenty-one

No money down, no credit plan

No time to chase you 'cause I'm a busy man

I found a telephone number on a laundry slip

I had a good, hardy jailor with a six gun hip

He let me call long distance, she said, "Number, please"

And just as soon as I told her, she shouted back at me

Said, "That'll be cash on the barrelhead, hon

Not part, not half, but the entire sum

No money down, no credit line

'Cause a little boy tells me you're the traveling kind"

Thirty days in the jailhouse, four days on the road

I was feeling mighty hungry, my feet, a heavy load

I saw a Greyhound coming, stuck out my thumb

As soon as I was seated, the driver caught my arm

Said, "That'll be cash on the barrelhead, hon

This old, grey dog gets paid to run

When the engine starts and the wheels will roll

Give me cash on the barrelhead, I'll take ya down the road"

Cash on the barrelhead

I'll take you down the road